Yosemite Shakes Down Half Dome Hikers Again
By Steve Casimiro, Adventure Journal on January 18th, 2012
Hiking Half Dome this summer? You’ll still need a permit. The so-called “interim” program appears to be setting itself into stone, as Yosemite National Park officials are once again requiring permits to hike Half Dome via its cable route. Overcrowding on the cables often looks more like passengers boarding an airplane during the holidays than a wilderness hike, and the park has been requiring permits since 2010 to ease the congestion. A draft of a new Half Dome management plan is expected to be released for public comment this winter.
We visited Franconia Notch a few years ago. There, we joined a huge crowd of people, fighting for space along the steep trail to the summit. We literally had to force our way past the narrow sections, or the never-ending stream of descending hikers would have pinned us down below.
Is this the future of our nation’s most iconic “wilderness” locales?